Viveka Sloka 29 Tel Eng

మందమధ్యమరూపాపి వైరాగ్యేణ శమాదినా ।
ప్రసాదేన గురోః సేయం ప్రవృద్ధా సూయతే ఫలమ్ ॥ 29 ॥

సా ఇయం=ఈ ముముక్ష, మందమధ్యమరూపాపి = మందమధ్యమ రూపమైనను, వైరాగ్యేణ - వైరాగ్యముచేతను, శమాదినా = శమాదికము చేతను, గురోః = గురువుయొక్క, ప్రసాదేన = అనుగ్రహముచేతను, ప్రవృద్ధి = ప్రవృద్ధమైనదై, ఫలం - ఫలమును, సూయతే = కనును,

ఈ విధముగ ముముక్ష మోక్షేచ్ఛారూపమే యైనను, అది ఎప్పుడు ప్రవృద్ధమగునో, అప్పుడే ఫలము నిచ్చును గాన దాని ప్రవృద్ధి కొరకై, విషయ వైరాగ్యమును, శమాదిషట్కమును, గురుప్రసాదమును సంపాదించుటకై పురుషుడు ప్రయత్నించవలెనని భావము.

అప. ఈ నాల్గు సాధనములలో రెండవది, నాల్గవది ఉన్నచో అన్నియు ఉన్నట్లే. అవి లేనిచో అట్లుకాదు అని చెప్పుచున్నాడు.

mandamadhyamarūpāpi vairāgyēṇa śamādinā ।
prasādēna gurōḥ sēyaṃ pravṛddhā sūyatē phalam ॥ 29॥

In this sloka Sankara is urging mumukshus to seek knowledge from the gurus, grow and arrive at the truth by their individual powers of reasoning and analysis. For that he is recommending vairagya and shat-sampatti (sama, dama, uparati, titeeksha, sraddha, samadhana) described in the earlier slokas.

When we ask what is the purpose of creation, we get several answers depending on whom we ask. A scientist can say to prove the evolution of species. A empiricist might say to see who is fit to survive. An actor might say creation is a play by the almighty. Sri Prabhupada often says the purpose is to "return home of the Supreme Personality of Godhead". It is based on the belief that jeevatma is an eternal fragment of the paramatma that has been subjected to multiple births among various species including plants, insects, reptiles, humans, etc. based on karma. Thus jeevatma is same as paramatma in quality, even though paramatma is quantitatively different and many times more powerful. Moksha is the process of "returning home" without losing individuality as a servitor of the paramatma. Bhakti yoga has been prescribed as the final step before moksha. In fact it is more complicated than that.

In hinduism, time has been divided into kalpas and yugas. kalpa refers to the period of time between the creation and dissolution or recreation of the universe. The length of a kalpa varies by tradition. In the Puranas, it is described as 4.32 billion years. In hindu cosmology, a Yuga Cycle lasts for 4,320,000 years with its four yugas: Krita (Satya) Yuga for 1,728,000 years, Treta Yuga for 1,296,000 years, Dvapara Yuga for 864,000 years, and Kali Yuga for 432,000 years.

At the dawn of a kalpa, Lord Brahma releases all the souls into his creation. They assume various forms based on the sanchita karma from the previous kalpa save those who have no karma. Thus the krita yuga begins and the souls lead lives based on dharma enunciated in manusmriti subject to transmigration. By the end of the krita yuga, some souls attain moksha and the remaining souls are born in the treta yuga. Since in treta yuga dharma stands on three legs, many souls fail to attain moksha by violating dharma and those adhering to dharma attain moksha without rebirth.

This process continues in dwapara yuga. The remaining souls of dwapara yuga that can't attain moksha are born in the kali yuga. So the souls born in kali yuga are the final distillate of the original souls born at the beginning of kalpa in the krita yuga. These are bound by very inimical karma and have the tendencies to steal, pillage, and plunder. Some of them are born as leaders of nations and wage wars just to please their petty egos. Others destroy the earth with their excessive consumption and avarice.

There are some souls like the alwars and nayanars -- the devotees of Lords Vishnu and Siva--who realize the truth, are ennobled, lead pious lives and urge others to do the same. The bard devotees like Mira Bai, Tyagaraja and Annamayya compose divine music so others can sing the praises of the Lord and attain him. Spiritual gurus like Adi Sankara, and Swami Vivekananda awaken the masses about moksha with their speeches and compositions.

If one makes an estimate of the total number of compositions by various devotees it will be in millions if not billions. Also, the spiritual economy made of temples, their lands, and endowments runs into billions annually. So there is a great deal that is allocated by the humanity unbeknowst in their quest for moksha even as dharma stands on the last of the four legs in the kali yuga.